KINSTON—As N.C. Rep. Stephen LaRoque tells it on the campaign trail, <u>both state and federal government are too big, wasteful of taxpayers’ money and in the way of private business.</u>

“Government can’t be all things to all people,” said LaRoque, a conservative Republican from Kinston, in a televised debate before his 2010 re-election. “We need more self-reliance and accountability.”

But LaRoque, who returned in January to the N.C. General Assembly after a four-year hiatus, takes aim at government waste while quietly accepting generous six-figure paychecks for running two public charities funded with $8 million in federal dollars since 1997.

He’s earned up to $195,000 a year heading the two small economic development organizations—the East Carolina Development Company and Piedmont Development Company—and used the non-profits to loan some of the public funds to his close associates and political allies. Past board members say they were kept in the dark about his pay.

“I was not aware that he was compensated at all,” said CeCe Hudson, a former board member from Sampson County. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being compensated fairly, but there’s a line.”

LaRoque, now in a leadership position at the N.C. General Assembly, refused to answer questions about the management of his non-profits.

LaRoque received $100,000 to $195,000 a year in compensation as the sole employee of the small non-profit—much more than what others running similar organizations made.
He stacked the board of directors for his non-profits with immediate family members, a move that runs afoul of both IRS and USDA guidelines.
He used the non-profits to loan federal money to close associates, including loans of $100,000 to $300,000 to a board member, the private law firm he uses for political lawsuits, his wife and two fellow GOP legislators.
The USDA admonished LaRoque in 2010 for making loans above a $250,000 cap on loans, including $2 million a single developer received
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